2018 Tax Guide for the Military Family

Get your documents together. It’s that time of year to get organized for filing your taxes. Whether you will owe Uncle Sam money or are expecting a tax refund in your account, service members and their families have access to tax filing resources that won’t cost a thing.

2018 Tax Guide for the Military Family

First thing’s first: Those W-2s.

DFAS (Defense Finance and Accounting System), also known as the entity that pays you or your sponsor, published a 2017 tax statement release schedule (aka the date your W-2 will be available online or via snail mail). The list is broken down by service branch and status (retiree, civilian employee, etc).

In order to access the electronic version, you have to have a login to myPay (the site that houses the military equivalent of a pay stub, also known as the Leave and Earnings Statement LES).

If you have other sources of income, employers have until January 31, 2018 to send out W-2s, according to the Internal Revenue Service. Examples of other items you may need in order to file are college tuition statements, bank statements, receipts, and mortgage interest statements.

When in doubt, ask the professionals at Military OneSource (for free). You can contact them between 7 a.m. until 11 p.m. EST at 800-342-9647.

Lastly: Where to file for free … or at a discount.

Once you have all of the above documentation ready, it is time to decide where/how to file. There are a few options to file for free.